The
Australian Volleyball Federation was founded in 1963 and the sport of
volleyball has rapidly increased in popularity since then, particularly in
schools and recreational centres. It also received a boost from the team’s
success at the London Olympic Games, where Australia finished ninth.

The
Volleyball Team Australia Men (Volleyroos) programme has been supported by the
Australian Institute of Sport since 1990 and has been based at the AIS in
Canberra since 1997. The AIS programme operates year-round, with
increasing numbers of athletes graduating to North American universities and
professional leagues in Europe.

Australia
has appeared in three Olympics (2000, 2004 and 2012) in recent years and that
momentum has had a knock-on effect for its junior teams, with an eighth-place
finish at the 2003 World Youth Boy’s Championship.

The
first Men’s U23 World Championship will see Australia field a young Volleyroos
side as the programme looks to develop these athletes for Rio 2016 and beyond.

A former national team player for Australia (90 matches played between 1990-92), Grant Robertson brings a wealth of experience from all facets of the sport to the Australia U/23 Men’s Volleyball Team.

Having spent several years coaching elite beach volleyball teams for Australia during the 1990’s, Grant has since played a crucial role in developing junior athletes for the national volleyball and beach volleyball programmes through his roles as the assistant coach (2006-09) and now as the coach (2009-current) of the Queensland Academy of Sport Volleyball Program.